Marine Raiders: Strike Back (Blood War Book 2)

by Rod Carstens

  #

  "CIC to Captain Grogen. We have the solution from Combat Patrol Four."

  "Good. Don't wait for my command. Fire as the torpedoes have their solutions. I want a full spread this first salvo. After that, I hope we can get more selective in our targeting. Have the Pollux and the Castor receive the solutions as well."

  "Aye, aye, ma'am."

  Ririsa leaned forward and punched in the comm for the Pollux and the Castor.

  "Temesgen here," the Pollux’s commander replied.

  "Poal here."

  Grogen gave the same orders to the Pollux and Castor.

  "Aye, aye," the two captains said almost in unison.

  Ririsa watched her combat situation screen. Not only had they gotten the solution from Combat Patrol Four, but the ship’s combat computers had networked with Combat Patrol Four's as well. She could see the fighters in a hell of a dogfight with the Xotoli fighters. This was shaping up to be a bigger fight than she had anticipated. She hadn’t expected fighters. She should’ve launched the rest of the meager squadron she had left. She hadn’t been thinking ahead. If she had, it could’ve helped Steiny Man and Combat Patrol Four.

  The Long Lances began showing up as long red lines from each of the ships, all heading in the general direction of the Xotoli force. The torpedoes began to provide readings from their sensors as they approached the Xotoli force. It was larger than had been reported so far. Ririsa was now getting a good idea of what she was facing. Torpedoes were exploding before reaching the Xotoli. They must have a fighter screen, Ririsa thought, because neither the fighters nor the ships in the Xotoli landing force were firing back. With all of their offensive sensors, the Tokyo, Pollux, and Castor must look like a Christmas tree on their Xotoli computers. She could imagine the captains of those ships shouting orders as the torpedoes closed on their ships. The Xotoli cruiser was the first to take a torpedo. It didn’t seem to faze it, and the ship only increased speed. Then one torpedo, followed by a second, struck the destroyer farthest to port. The icon actually shuttered on her screen. Its electronic counter measure signature blinked once, then went out, and did not return.

  "Shit yeah," Ririsa said quietly.

  The Xotoli destroyer's offensive and defensive systems were down. She was badly hurt, but there was still a cruiser and three destroyers. More of the torpedoes continued to close on their targets. One struck a troop carrier, but to Ririsa's surprise, it didn’t seem to damage it at all. Nothing changed. The electronic signature was the same as well as its speed. What the fuck? Then, just to add to the Xotoli's confusion, those torpedoes Temesgen had suggested came into view. They were racing toward the Xotoli landing force from an entirely different heading, as if another Confederation task force had fired on them. Figure that one out, Ririsa thought. She saw a destroyer turn to meet this new threat.

  She had them confused. She glanced at the distance between the forces. They were closing fast. Her time was running out. Just a little closer. One more salvo.

  "Captain, this is the CIC. The sixteens say that they are just within range and have a solution."

  It was at the extreme range for the Tokyo's new sixteen-inch scrams, but she couldn't wait until they were well within range.

  "Have them go ahead and begin firing."

  "Aye, Captain."

  The Tokyo actually rocked enough when the sixteens fired that her reaction thruster systems had to right the ship. One, then the other, fired. Ririsa watched the icons on her screen closely. She had never seen sixteen-inch scrams strike another ship. They were designed for kinetic bombardment of planets in support of the coming invasions. Ship-to-ship combat wasn’t something the engineers had thought of. Something as large as a sixteen-inch, depleted uranium round traveling at over five miles a second would put a damned big hole in something. It seemed to take forever. The cruiser had just taken evasive action to avoid a torpedo, and the two red streaks representing the scram rounds missed.

  "Shit!" Ririsa said.

  After missing the cruiser, a troop carrier was just coming onto the screen. One and then the other round struck the troop ship. The icon broke into several smaller icons. The rounds had torn the troop carrier apart.

  "Yeah!" the young helmsmen yelled.

  Ririsa looked up at him and smiled.

  "Feels good, doesn't it, Petty Officer?"

  "Looks like we earned our pay this month," he said with smile.

  "You ain't said shit there, Petty Officer."

  They both laughed. The rest of the bridge crew could only stare open mouthed. No one had seen the captain so familiar with anyone. The sixteen-inch scrams fired again. Ririsa glanced at the distance between the two forces. No closer, she thought.

  "Captain, CIC torpedo tubes are loaded and ready for your order."

  This was enough. She had pushed their luck. They had damaged them and given their commander more than a few things to worry about.

  " Very well. CIC, I want another spread. Then we’re going to show them our stern."

  "Aye, ma'am."

  The ship shuttered as a full spread of torpedoes left her tubes, heading for the Xotoli landing force.

  #

  Lieutenant Commander Zula Temesgen had just fired the Pollux's second torpedo spread when a Xotoli torpedo struck the Pollux. The ship shuttered and slowed her speed. Temesgen looked at his systems control board. It blinked on, then off, and then back on again. The torpedo had struck them on the port side, close to the crew quarters. Compartments thirty-four to seventy were open to space. It had penetrated to one of the engine rooms as well. There were casualties and some damage. Temesgen glanced at his window view of the Pollux. With his naked eye, he could see the ship was leaking liquid oxygen and a myriad of other fluids into space. It was bad, but not crippling. He watched as the damage control parties were assigned various sectors. Their icons moved rapidly to address the damage.

  "Damage Control, this the commander."

  Temesgen couldn’t take his eyes off the leaking fluids and gases. Now he could see some equipment and several bodies floating out into space. Images of the Cappella flashed through his head. He reminded himself that they were not that badly damaged, but that day at Rift was cemented into his memory. He needed more information. Damage Control had a more detailed view of exactly what had been damaged.

  "Commander, we're hurt, but I don't think it’s going to put us out of the fight. The port side engine has been damaged, but is not off line and the engine room gang is on it. I've got the control parties on the most severe damage."

  "Casualties?"

  "Still counting, sir. But close to fifty, I'm afraid."

  "Aye, keep up the good work."

  Suddenly, the close in defenses were firing as another missile closed in on the Pollux. It exploded before striking the ship, but peppered the port side with shrapnel. More alarms sounded, but nothing nearly as serious as the first torpedo.

  "Tokyo to Pollux and Castor. Time to turn tail and run. Make your best speed back to the task force."

  "Aye, Tokyo."

  "Pollux, this the Tokyo. How badly are you damaged?"

  "We won't be able to make flank speed, but we’re still good."

  "Advise if you need assistance," Captain Grogen replied.

  "Aye, Tokyo."

  Temesgen watched the damage control screen closely. He glanced over at his helmsman.

  "Come about to 234.56."

  "234.56, aye."

  She was a young blond petty officer. She seemed completely calm and composed. Then he recognized her. She had been on the Cappella with him. She was one of the few combat veterans on board. She had seen and lived through much worse.

  "Feels good to get some licks in, doesn't it, Petty Officer?"

  She smiled broadly without taking her eyes off her displays.

  "Yes, sir. It certainly does."

  "You were on the Cappella, weren't you?"

  "Yes, sir, I was. You pulled me out of a gun mount and got me to a lifeboat
."

  "That was you?"

  "Yes, sir. That’s why I volunteered for the Pollux. Because you were going to be the commander."

  For the first time since he’d taken command, Temesgen felt something besides the weight of his responsibilities. He felt the reward of good leadership and the loyalty of men and women who respected him for more than just his rank. It was a very strange feeling in the middle of a battle, but it was one he would always remember.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Xotoli Outpost

  Exoplanet 1123.567

  Von Fleet Planet 703

  1st Marine Raider Battalion

  Sergeant Nani fired at an armored hybrid that had just tried to flash between two of the dorms. She missed.

  "Shit!"

  Her radio crackled with a message on the company’s all hands network.

  "Alpha Company, be advised there is an inbound Xotoli task force. Expected ETA is four hours. An emergency extraction has been ordered. It is beginning now with the casualties. We are to hold this position until the other companies have been extracted. The major thinks that we’re holding up the major part of the armored hybrids. We must hold. If we do not, then the whole mission will be at risk. The second platoon will be one of the first to be extracted since they have the data we came for. So dig in. I’ll speak to each platoon leader to have individual sit reps. Get it done, Marines."

  Nani looked over at Hu, who was standing next to her. He turned to look at her. They couldn’t see each other because of their helmets, but they both shook their heads slowly.

  "I sure wish I had studied IT back in school," someone remarked over the squad net.

  "We’re in the deep shit," Hu said.

  "Reminds me of Rift," Nani said through her fatigue. She’d been fighting continuously since they’d been dropped.

  "I'm getting tired of deep shit," Hu said with a laugh.

  "You volunteered, dude."

  "Shit. I forgot that part," Hu said. "You know, once, just once, I’d like to fight out in the open so we could take advantage of the armor’s power. Move, run, jump, instead of fighting in another kaking building. We’re in another built up area where none of the advantages the armor is supposed to give us can be used. Shit."

  "Be careful what you ask for, Hu. You know the old grunt saying ‘no matter how bad it is, it can always get worse,’" Nani said.

  "Thanks for reminding me."

  "Hey, Tolla, grab that stanchion and put it against your end of the barricade," Nani ordered.

  Nani was always looking for ways the squad could continue to strengthen their positions in each of the damaged structures. The fight in the dome had turned into a stalemate. The hybrids kept bringing troops up for a rush at the control center, but they were never able to get through the hasty defensive line the platoon had constructed. With the addition of the heavy rail and the platoon from Charlie Company, they had held the last line of dorms before the control center. Between the firefights, their armor gave them enough power that they had pulled up the concrete dome flooring and were now using it, as well as anything else they could find, along with the reinforcements from Charlie Company filling in the holes. They had held firm against all of the attacks, but it couldn't last. With each attack they would lose one or two Marines, who would either be wounded badly enough their armor couldn’t repair their injuries or killed. If you added the time and casualties, you came up short. Nani wasn’t sure how this was going to end. It was as bad as Rift. The outcome would hang on a few small things, as all battles seemed to do.

  "Ahhhhhhhhhh! Stop! God! Ahhhhhhh!"

  The screams sent a chill up Nani's spine.

  "What in God's name?" Hu cried.

  Nani and rest of the squad searched for the source of the screams.

  "Fuck! What was that?"

  "Who was that?"

  "AHHHHHHH! No! No! I won't...Ahhhhhh!"

  Nani was up on the barricade. She zoomed and searched in front of her. Every Marine was doing the same. Finally, from down the line, she heard Bien say quietly, "I got her. They have a Marine. She’s naked and strung up on the big X things they used on Rift. They’re cutting her up slowly."

  "Ahhhhhhh. Fuck youuuuuuuuu."

  "We gotta do something!"

  "I can't stand this. Goddammit, Nani. Do something."

  "It must be the Marine I saw drop behind the dome," Hu said quietly. It was as if he had watched a nightmare start and now had to listen to it finish.

  What was she supposed to do? Nani thought. They wanted her to react.

  "They’re using her as bait. They want us to do something stupid," Nani snapped.

  "But I can't stand to hear her."

  "Stand fast, Marines. Do you understand? Stand fast," Nani ordered.

  Lieutenant Taro and Staff Sergeant Elias came running in, crouching next to Nani's position.

  "Have you got a line of sight on it?" Taro asked.

  "Yeah. Bien caught a glimpse of her."

  Lieutenant Taro thought for a moment.

  "Basso, get up here."

  "Ahhhhhhhh. No, you fucks. Fuck your mother, you...." The screams seemed to cut right through Nani

  Nani looked at Taro. Basso was their company's best sniper. Nani knew she wasn’t going to be able to save the Marine, but Basso might be able to put her out of her misery.

  #

  Rie Basso and her spotter, Issur Mara, had been feeling out of place since the raid had started. She had expected to be able to find some high ground and do her job: over watch for the assault troops. They had tried, but they were unable to do a sensor plant in any of the dorms. Blind without her sensors and with no high ground, she and Mara had found themselves, like every other Marine, thrown into the line to hold back what seemed to be a continuous flood of hybrids. She hadn’t pulled her sniper rifle out of its case since she’d hit the planet. She and Mara crouched and ran down the line to Lieutenant Taro’s position. He sat behind the barricade with Nani and Elias

  "Sir..."

  "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" The scream was particularly piercing. Basso had never heard anything like it before. Someone was in pain beyond her understanding.

  "Fuck! What is that?" Basso asked.

  "That's your target, Sergeant," Lieutenant Taro said quietly.

  He didn't have to explain anything else. It was clear what he wanted. A coldness came over Basso that she had never felt before. It was a stillness, a singleness of purpose that she would never forget. To kill a fellow Marine, even if they were being tortured crossed a line, a line that would change her. She knew this was a moment by which she would forever measure her life; before the shot and after the shot.

  She turned her head and looked at Mara. He was staring at her. She and Mara didn't have to talk to communicate. They had been a team too long and been through too much as sniper and spotter. He simply nodded. She returned the nod.

  "We got this, sir. I'll let you know what we need."

  "Good. Anything," Taro assured. "The sooner the better."

  As if to emphasize Taro’s statement, the captured Marine let out another piercing scream.

  "Anybody have eyes on?" Basso asked.

  "Yeah, Bien down the line got a glimpse," Nani answered.

  Basso and Mara moved down the line to Bien’s position.

  "Where?" was all Basso asked.

  "Okay, see that big round building in the middle? Two fingers to the left of that, behind that big supply building."

  Basso could see the supply building. They needed to get a better look. Mara had already pulled his pack off his back and was sorting through the various drones he carried to give them some eyes on their target. He found the smallest one he had with the range and clarity they needed. It also had the smallest electronic signature of any of their drones. Basso couldn't use it for a targeting solution, but she could use it as her eyes to figure out the shot. Mara folded out his pad and turned it on. He synced it with the drone and turned to Basso.

  "Ready, R
ie?"

  "Yeah."

  He gently tossed the fly sized drone into the air. It began to fly a zigzag course toward the supply building.

  "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

  Come on, come on, Basso thought. The drone went undetected as Mara took it high above the supply building to get an overview. When the scene came into view, Basso wasn’t sure she understood what she was seeing. The Marine was fastened to a big X with her arms and legs spread. At first, it looked like she had a red leg and a white one. Then Basso realized that they were skinning her alive, peeling one long strip at a time off her body. She was surrounded by a group of hybrids who were obviously enjoying the sight and sound of her pain. They peeled another strip off her leg. Instead of screaming, she passed out. A hybrid approached and gave her an injection of something, and she woke up. They were keeping her awake to suffer more. That cold place inside of Basso got very dark.

  She shook herself out of her shock and used that cold dark place to increase her focus.

  "How?" Basso asked. Mara was the best spotter there was. He came up with combinations of projectile type and targets that no one else could figure out.

  "They've got her right in a blind spot. Let me look around."

  He moved the drone away from the supply building and began to explore the dome. After a quick sweep, Mara said, "There’s no way we can do a sensor plant without them noticing. No angles for smart rounds. We're going to have to go through it and use a drone for the solution."

  Drone shots were tricky. The drone was moving, and there were a million things that could affect the solution after she had loaded her rifle, but she trusted Mara. He knew what he was doing. It would have to do.

  "I don't like to do that. You know how flaky drones can be, and there’re construction variables that we can't always account for," Basso said.

  "I know, but it's the only way, Rie."